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What China’s Arctic ambitions mean for the environment

IT MAY be a long way from home but China is muscling its way into the Arctic, cosying up to countries that line the Arctic Ocean. So what does this mean for the environment?

In May, the nations of the Arctic Council opened the door to six non-Arctic states, including China. Although mostly symbolic – they were admitted as observers so don’t get an official say – for China, it was the culmination of years spent trying to gain a foothold in the region.

Last year, China’s icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, traversed the Northern Sea Route through Russia’s territorial waters, accessible because of the receding sea ice. This summer, officials have said China plans to send a commercial vessel on a similar voyage, to test whether shipping shortcuts across the Arctic are financially feasible. And as of 2014, when its second icebreaker is ready for service, China’s small fleet will outclass those of the US and Canada, whose ships are nearing retirement age.

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One of the reasons China wants to send ships across the top of the world is that it will shave thousands of kilometres off its transit routes between ports in Canada, Europe, Iceland and the US, saving money and fuel. By the end of the decade, up to 15 per cent of China’s international trade could be transported this way, according to Huigen Yang of the Polar Research Institute of China based in Shanghai.

Oil will presumably be one of the commodities China’s ships will carry. Since 2003, it has invested billions of dollars in developing Canada’s tar sands south of the Arctic Circle, and in March it signed a deal with Russia that allows it to look for energy reserves in the Barents Sea. China’s half of the bargain is to double the amount of oil it buys from Russia. “It’s fair to say China will drive development of Arctic resources,” says Malte Humpert of the Arctic Institute in Washington DC. Russia exports three-quarters of its oil but since the American fracking boom, the US is no longer a customer – so without China, this oil may have stayed in the ground. “This deal is a sign of things to come,” Humpert says.

China has signed a deal with Russia that enables it to look for oil reserves in the Barents Sea

Fishing is also likely to be high on China’s agenda, says Paul Berkman of the University of California in Santa Barbara. The warming of the oceans is pushing fish further north into Arctic waters. China consumed two-thirds of the 2009 global fish catch and, along with other Asian countries, it is likely to begin looking to the Arctic, says Dirk Zeller of the University of British Columbia in Canada. This is worrying as these countries have a reputation for depleting fish stocks. A recent study by Zeller’s group found that between 2000 and 2011, China caught 12 times as much fish in other countries’ waters as it reported (Fish and Fisheries, doi.org/kx6).

Ultimately, the Arctic is so fragile that any country could get it wrong, says Charlie Kronick of Greenpeace. While China’s need for oil may escalate drilling operations, he believes it’s a good thing that China and others are adding their voices to the Arctic Council’s decision-making process.

This article appeared in print under the headline “China in the Arctic&colon; less fish, more oil?”